Tag: Firozpur

Rail Roko Protest

Rail-Roko Protest: 18 Trains Of Firozpur Division Hit

By LokMarg

As many as 18 trains of the Firozpur division, have been affected as members of various farmers’ bodies squatted on train tracks here on Thursday as part of the three-day ‘Rail-Roko’ agitation. 

Several farmer bodies led by the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee are on a three-day ‘rail blockade’, which began today, with several demands including a financial package for losses caused by recent floods, a legal guarantee to minimum support price (MSP) and debt waiver.

A railway official of the Firozpur (FZR) division said that the services of as many as 18 trains have been hit till now on the first day of the rail blockade agitation. “Of those, 12 trains, which set off from and arrive here have been cancelled and the remaining, long route trains, have been diverted,” he said. 

Dilbag Singh, one of the protestors, said that the call for the three-day-long agitation was given a month earlier and that the government should provide an immediate solution to their demands. 

“This (Rail Roko protest) which is going on, was called a month earlier. We want the government to hold talks and provide solutions to our demands,” he said. 

The agitating farmers are also demanding action against Union Minister Ajay Mishra Teni’s son Ashish Mishra, the main accused in the Lakhimpur Kheri incident of 2021, which killed four farmers. 

Earlier in the day, Sarwan Singh Pandher of Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee, who was present at the Amritsar protest said, “If anyone tries to be unfair with the farmers of Punjab, then farmers from Haryana will also join Punjab farmers. Farmers are united throughout the country.”

Pandher further said that at “Devi Dasspura thousands of farmers have gathered in their tractors and bikes to hold an agitation demanding compensation over losses considering the floods in north India which have affected the crops.”

“The agitation has been called by 18 unions in North India. Home Minister Amit Shah came to Amritsar and he promised to bring MSP guarantee law but the committee has not been formed yet. The cases that had been registered during the Delhi agitation have not been withdrawn,” Pandher said.

“The farmers who lost their lives, and their families have not got the compensation and jobs which was assured. The victims have not got justice in the Lakhimpur Kheri incident. We have demanded 50,000 crore as compensation for the floods. The drugs that are being supplied through drones are not being checked at the borders. The protest is against the central government,” he added.

Police official Balvir S Ghuman said that massive security has been deployed to deal with the situation. (ANI)

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stubble burning in Haryana

Stubble Burning In Haryana Not Even 10% Of Punjab’s: Khattar

By LokMarg

Chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar has claimed that the cases of stubble burning in Haryana are not even 10 percent of that in Punjab.

“There are not even 10 percent cases of stubble burning in Haryana as compared to Punjab. Last year there were 2,561 incidents of stubble burning, whereas it has decreased to 1,925 this year while 13,873 incidents have taken place in Punjab this year,” Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar said while addressing a press conference in Chandigarh on Monday.
He further added that they have also appealed to Punjab regarding stubble burning and the pollution it causes.

“NGT has given directions to Punjab. We have also appealed (to them) that the pollution will not remain in one state but will spread to many states,” he said.

“We created awareness among the farmers and also took legal action besides imposing penalties and registering FIRs. Incidents of stubble burning have reduced significantly in Haryana as compared to Punjab,” Haryana CM said.

Notably, Stubble burning had turned worse across Punjab, giving no hope of improvement in Delhi’s Air Quality Index (AQI) as the capital gasps for clean air.

Increasing incidents of stubble burning in Punjab this year have become a matter of serious concern with the Union Environment Ministry pointing out that the AQI is likely to sharply deteriorate as only about 45-50 percent of sown area in the state had been harvested till October 24.

Sources in the Environment Ministry had told ANI that the contribution of stubble burning to the adverse air quality in Delhi and the National Capital Region has been increasing sharply and is about 18-20 percent currently with the trend only likely to increase further.

As per the Standard Protocol developed by ISRO for Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), for the period September 15, 2022, to October 26, 2022, total paddy residue burning events reported in Punjab were 7,036 compared to 6,463 for the same period during the last year.

CAQM further stated that about 70 percent of farm fires during the current paddy harvesting season were reported only from six districts namely Amritsar, Firozpur, Gurdaspur, Kapurthala, Patiala, and Tarn Taran.

These districts account for 4,899 cases against a total of 7,036 incidents in Punjab. These traditional six hotspot districts also accounted for about 65 percent of the total burning incidents during the last year for the same period. Out of a total of 7,036 reported cases, 4,315 stubble-burning incidences were reported during the last six days alone i.e., about 61 percent.

As per the Standard ISRO Protocol, for the period of September 15 – October 28 this year, a total of 10,214 paddy residue burning events have been reported in Punjab compared to 7,648 for the same period during the last year, which is a significant increase of about 33.5 percent.

Out of the total 10,214 reported cases, 7,100 stubble-burning incidents were reported in the last 7 days alone which is about 69 percent, added the official. (ANI)

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